Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 20, 2009 at 6:58 am

Canard is a French word for a duck, and is often used in English to refer to a deliberately false story, originating from an abbreviated form of an old French idiom, "vendre un canard à moitié," meaning "to half-sell a duck." In French it can also mean a journal.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 20, 2009 at 8:08 am

Canard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canard is a French word for a duck, and is often used in English to refer to a deliberately false story, originating from an abbreviated form of an old French idiom, "vendre un canard à moitié," meaning "to half-sell a duck." In French it can also mean a journal.

Posted by Louise Buriss
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 20, 2009 at 11:47 am

DIRTY POLITICS IS CORRECT!

When AIM petitioners were gathering signatures in 2007, I was assured that a successful petition drive would only initiate a preliminary feasibility study, and nothing more. Few were told that the petition procedure mandated the actual legal process leading to a possible Town of Alamo.

The 3000 Alamo residents who signed the petition circulated by proponents of Alamo Incorporation Movement (AIM) did not sign the petition to bring the incorporation question to a vote. The petition for the incorporation of the town of Alamo, submitted with the application to LAFCO, contains the following words:

"Your signature on this Petition does not commit you to support the incorporation of the Town of Alamo."
"YOUR DECISION TO SUPPORT OR REJECT INCORPORATION REMAINS ENTIRELY IN YOUR HANDS."

Proponents of AIM, under the leadership of VICKI KOC, continue to spin their web of deception and misinformation in a zealous quest to turn our community into a contract-city, in partnership with a fiscally irresponsible County government. THERE IS NO RETURN FROM INCORPORATION, EVER!

Now we have a vote for incorporation at the same time as a vote for 5 town council members as well as a mayor.

This deceptive bait and switch tactic, and lack of integrity are just a sample of what members of AIM would bring to the table as town council members. What good liars they are!

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 21, 2009 at 7:03 am

Propaganda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Propaganda is the dissemination of information aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.

One of the keys elements of propaganda is that it is almost exclusively targeted at weak-minded or ignorant people. Fortunately, there are very few such folks around here, so classical propaganda techniques do not and will not work.

Our minds being untrammeled, we are intellectually able to discern lies from falsehood -- and so are the editors of our fine local papers.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 21, 2009 at 8:56 am

Advocacy Journalism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Advocacy journalism is a genre of journalism that intentionally and transparently adopts a non-objective viewpoint, usually for some social or political purpose. Because it is intended to be factual, it is distinguished from propaganda. It is also distinct from instances of media bias and failures of objectivity in media outlets, which attempt to beor which present themselves asobjective or neutral.

Traditionally, advocacy and criticism are restricted to editorial and op-ed pages, which are clearly distinguished in the publication and in the organization's internal structure. News reports are intended to be objective and unbiased. In contrast, advocacy journalists have an opinion about the story they are writing. For example, that political corruption should be punished, that more environmentally friendly practices should be adopted by consumers, or that a government policy will be harmful to business interests and should not be adopted. This may be evident in small ways, such as tone or facial expression, or large ways, such as the selection of facts and opinions presented.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 21, 2009 at 9:17 am

Yellow journalism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news. It may feature exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or unprofessional practices by news media organizations or journalists.

Posted by Louise Buriss
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 22, 2009 at 9:16 am

My Dearest Ron,

Ya know, I enjoy your blogging and I like your style!

The Chicago Sun-Times Endorsed Ron Blagojevich both in 2002 and again in 2006. Gov. Rod Blagojevich also landed the backing of at least 23 other Illinois newspapers in 2006, including the Post-Dispatch, The Daily Southtown and The Courier News.

That turned out well! For sure.

A modest suggestion: If you really need some ink-stained wretch to help you make up your mind on how to vote, perhaps you should go bowling instead. Democracy would be better served. The ballot box already gets a steady supply of witless Xs.
It is a tradition as old as this country. Personally, I believe that anyone who would let their vote be swayed by a newspaper endorsement is not qualified to vote - but then that is just my opinion.

I confess that I've never quite understood why newspapers endorse presidential candidates. Sure, I know the history and the tradition, the fact that newspapers in the 18th and 19th centuries were often affiliated with political parties, but why do they do it now? Why do it at a time when credibility and viability of the press are at all-time lows? More important, why do it at a time when readers, especially, young readers, question the objectivity of newspapers in particular and the media in general?

Ron, by the way, indeed intellect and integrity are mutually exclusive.

Posted by Concerned Resident
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 23, 2009 at 11:12 am

ATTENTION:

I'm getting unsolicited propoganda from Alamoinc@gmail.com to an e-mail address I gave to Alamo School and Stone Valley Middle School. Can anyone confirm they are getting these e-mails from one of these Public Schools e-mail lists?

Posted by Phil Erickson
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 24, 2009 at 12:05 pm

So what makes a newspapers endorsement meaningful? The true answer is NOTHING!

That the local newspapers favor more government should not surprise anyone as journalism today is so left leaning they have lost all objectivity long ago. So called reporters today, do not objectively report, they shape their articles with their bias and many resort to blatant data mining.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 24, 2009 at 6:01 pm

Definitions by US Legal resources:

Expert Endorsement by Media

The journalistic expert doing the endorsement should be an expert. Furthermore the expert must also have evaluated the campaign and its purpose using appropriate techniques; he/she must be qualified in the relevant area. A surgeon is not by definition an expert on pharmacology. The endorsement should be backed up by noted research, evaluations, and/or comparisons of options. Many editors and reporters attempt to create an "air" of expertise in the presentation of their expertise, but close examination will show that a media endorsement does not meet the requirements of an expert presentation.

Follow the money....always a good idea. Who is spending money to back the NO on Measure A campaign? Could it be individuals and supporters of developers who prefer to deal with the county's lax oversight rather than have the oversight of a town government? Why are contributions coming from outside of Alamo? Go up to Martinez and get a copy of the filings and see for yourself who is against having a town.

And speaking of money: Do you like having our tax dollars go to Martinez and be distributed by the county government to other communities? Do you like being a donor community and subsidizing services in other Contra Costa County towns like Richmond? Do you like having our money disappear into the "black box" of the county with no accountability and no requirement to spend the money on Alamo? That's the way it is now, and if that isn't broken, I don't know what is.

Worse still are the major cuts already underway in the county's budget and impending tax hikes. The cuts in spending and services will only get worse. The Sheriff announced yesterday he has to cut about 70 deputies. If you think the level of services from the county will stay the same in the coming months and years, you are ignoring reality. And the county can raise taxes on us with a 2/3 vote of all county voters.....but the taxes can be applied only to unincorporated areas like Alamo.

If you're worried about taxes going up under Incorporation, remember that a 2/3 vote is still required to raise taxes AND that vote would be taken only among Alamo voters. As a town, we will have control over when and if we increase taxes; under the current situation, we have zero control.

I posted 3 Yes on A signs on my fence facing the trail and EVERY day since then they have been pulled down. I have constantly replaced them. 1 was stolen. Now that the $10,000. reward for anyone stealing signs has been posted, this is the first day that they have remained up. I would never think of removing an opposition sign. If your cause is just why do you feel threatened by opposition? This is not a canard- it is truth.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 25, 2009 at 6:57 pm

For our neighbor Sandy,

No sign was removed by community courtesy (a verb) or by any neighbor that supports your willing effort to support your choice in the March 3 election. That, Sandy, is 8,114 eligible voters. Everyone of your neighbors support your position and ask for greater inclusion, definition and budgetary disclosure so we might join you in support of an attractive concept of local government control under citizens' participation and oversight.

If anyone doubts the sincerity of a majority of neighbors, then all that must be done is offer inclusion, definition and budgetary responsibility. Then see how the remaining voters, yet to vote, join you in creating the positive result you desire.

Posted by Community courtesy
a resident of Alamo
on Feb 25, 2009 at 7:14 pm

From on-line Webster Dictionary:

in•clu•sion

NOUN:
1. The act of including or the state of being included.
2. Something included.

Definition

NOUN:
1.
a. A statement conveying fundamental character.
b. A statement of the meaning of a word, phrase, or term, as in a dictionary entry.
2. The act or process of stating a precise meaning or significance; formulation of a meaning.

budg•et

NOUN:
1.
a. An itemized summary of estimated or intended expenditures for a given period along with proposals for financing them: